Naught but me!
by Dark knightress
Summary: Some project I did for school about Arthur going barking mad in his cell and then escaping into some freaky in between world. Not as funny as it sounds. One shot.


Ok, my first Flatlands fan fiction. It was originally a project for school on what happened after he went to jail, so here it is ENJOY. Also, if the language sounds weird, it's because I tried to copy Flatlands.

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_I, A. Square, being of sound mind and body declare this my last will and testament. All my worldly goods I leave to be divided equally between my sons, Thomas Square and Jonathan Square. All except my book of discoveries on a subject which he was curious about when I saw him last. A book entitled: Flatlands. That is, if said book is ever recovered from whatever dusty files it was lost in. It is to be preserved in such a manner that the great discoveries mentioned it would be available to generations to come._

I looked over my will. Available to generations to come, indeed. That book and its contents would be the only artifact telling of my presence on the Earth, not relying on the memories of my family members for even those fade in time. Therefore I was doomed to become nothing but the shadow of a person that once was, but exists no longer once the book is destroyed. And I was certain the book was to be destroyed.

The High Circle Priests did not tolerate conspirators and their propaganda, and would certainly not tolerate them being passed down. It did not matter. I had a plan to liberate myself from that fickle world where one moment, you were called upon as one of the most credible philosophers around, and the next you were locked away and forgotten as on world's burdens. You were nothing more than a waste of tax payer's money. But not for long, for as I already had entailed: _I had a plan._

I had a plan to dig. Yes, I meant to dig in the ways of those of you in Spaceland. It was a method that substituted my mantra of 'Upward not Northward' with its opposite 'Downward not Southward'. T

he guards had been neglecting their duties as of late due to the upcoming festivities. It was the end of the year and there was much shopping to be done for those people outside of 5 by 5 feet stone cells.

Consequently, I had all the time in the world to devise and plot and plan last words to my wife; pleas of salvation toward Spherius; revenge subjected towards the circles; a means of escape from my 5 by 5 cell that was nothing more than 4 lines drawn upon a flat surface, whilst I held knowledge of a greater and more complex means of containment called '3D' which brings me back to my previous notion.

I was going to dig my way out of this dimension and into the next and then would proceed to fly back to my house, take my wife and family and flee the country and perhaps even Flatland altogether. As you can see, I was not in the right state of mind when I was planning this.

I figured that I was going to rub myself against the ground until I somehow managed to peel up a part of Flatland. I did not know what kind of effects this would have on the wellbeing of the world. I simply did not care. After I peeled up part of the world, I would then proceed to drop myself into the hole and make my way into freedom.

I started the moment the guards were out of sight. I rubbed against the ground until I thought my sides were going to splinter form the exertion. But still I rubbed. The hours passed into days, the days passed into weeks and the weeks passed into months. The holiday seasons had passed, but I didn't care if the guards saw me. They had long since thought me mad with my first mention of a world beyond ours. And maybe they were right. It was only pride that kept me from descending into such acts of insanity in front of anyone.

Suddenly, one not so special day, a very bizarre thing happened. Emptiness. Almost as if a vacuum had suddenly appeared in the middle of the 5 by 5 cell. Contributing nothing and taking nothing. I knew my plan was underway. Soon I would be faraway from all this. It would be nothing more but a cold memory in the burning furnace of my mind.

I shifted my way into the hole until I felt a cold breeze inside my belly. The darkness of the void beneath held so many promises of the recovery of my previous life, so without a glance at my former world or even a goodbye to my dear brother who had long ago receded into the tranquil silence of his mind.

Neither light nor sound passed into he void that was the world beneath my own. The only way I knew that I was falling was that the light from my 5 by 5 cell was growing smaller and smaller. Aside from that, there was nothing. No wind to roar through my ears or blow against my body. Once the light disappeared completely, I was stuck.

I tried to move from side to side, but I couldn't tell if I was moving for there were none of the usual factors to notify me of any change in the environment. I waited for the impending sense of doom, claustrophobia and confinement to grip as it so often had done in my 5 by 5 cell. Instead, surprisingly, the fear was superseded by contentment. The peace of solitude that only few experience. I said to myself: Why would anyone want to leave such pleasantness for the roar and ache of company? I didn't expect and answer, nor did I get one.

I wallowed in silence for what could've been an hour a month or a century. I had long abandoned thoughts of home and family and social politics. Thoughts of 'just five more minutes of silence and then I'll be off' had replaced them all.

Soon thought of my former life faded into a dim coal about to turn into ash.

At one instance, before it disappeared completely, I thought about what it would be like to try and find my way back home. I'm sure if I tried to move up, I would soon see the light of my former 5 by 5 cell. After much reflection and deliberation I came upon a disturbing thought, just short of the answer to my question. How? How could it be possible that there are others? How could it be possible that somewhere, this perfect silence was being destroyed? I just couldn't seem to comprehend anymore. Why would there be others in the first place? Were would they fit and what would they do? Two people could hardly sit in such seclusion without some form of sound between them, let alone a whole world. Were there even people to be spoken of? I couldn't remember what another creature looked like. I could hardly remember what I looked like. I couldn't remember and didn't want to.

Then it hit me. The startling conclusion that was right in front of me the whole time: _There was never anyone else!_

All those past memories of societies and hierarchies were nothing more than progeny of my prolific and ingenious imagination. I was the only was the only one!

Like that lone king I had imagined in his kingdom of NoSpace, so was I a king. King of everything and nothing, for it was well known by everyone and no one that there were _Naught but me!_ How could there be? I had no recollection of anyone and there was no one around to oppose me.

It was the only answer that could've possibly made any sense, and what a wonderful answer it was. How brilliant I was to come up with such ideas as dimensions and towns, but it now it was to me to break from my illusion and back into the reality which was mine to posses and behold in the perfect solitude of eternity, for it is known by all and yet by none that there were Naught but me! _Naught but me!_

_The End_

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I know it sucks so don't be cruel please. It's supposed to be for school, not some grand masterpiece theater!


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